- reply
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} nounADJECTIVE▪ brief, monosyllabic (esp. BrE)▪ blunt, curt, short, terse▪
His reply was short and to the point.
▪ sarcastic, scathing▪ only▪A non-committal grunt was his only reply.
▪ simple▪Her reply was simple: ‘No.’
▪ standard, usual▪‘No comment’ is his standard reply to most questions.
▪ straight▪She refused to give a straight reply, deciding rather to defer the question.
▪ evasive, non-committal▪ proper, satisfactory (esp. BrE)▪ suitable▪ correct▪ affirmative, positive▪ negative▪ early, immediate, prompt, quick▪ formal▪ individual, personal▪ written▪ polite▪ thoughtful▪Many thanks for your thoughtful reply, we greatly appreciate it.
▪ witty▪ muffled▪‘I'm in here!’ came the muffled reply.
VERB + REPLY▪ get, have, receive▪Have you had a reply to your letter yet?
▪ give sb, make, offer▪He made no reply, but simply walked away.
▪Grace could offer no reply.
▪ post, send, send back, type, write▪I'll post the replies later on my web page.
▪I must write my letter in time for them to send back a reply.
▪ elicit, produce▪The report elicited a formal reply from the department.
▪The questionnaire produced 9 000 replies.
▪ grunt (sth in), mumble (sth in), mutter (sth in)▪‘Mmm!’ she grunted in reply.
▪ wait for▪ await, expect (both formal) (in letters)▪I await your reply with interest.
▪ hear, read▪She heard no reply.
REPLY + VERB▪ come, come back▪‘No!’ came the reply.
▪A reply came back the next day.
▪ be forthcoming▪No reply seemed to be forthcoming.
REPLY + NOUN▪ card, envelope, form, slip (BrE)▪Please complete the reply card and return it to us as soon as possible.
▪ button (= in email)▪It's easy to just hit the reply button.
PREPOSITION▪ in reply (to sth)▪What did they say in reply?
▪I am writing in reply to your request for information on hotels in Italy.
▪ reply from▪a reply from the minister
▪ reply to▪my reply to your query
PHRASES▪ a/the right of reply (esp. BrE)▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}I am grateful to you for having given me a right of reply (= the opportunity to respond) to the article in your magazine about my company.
verbADVERB▪ merely, simply▪He simply replied that he hadn't the faintest idea.
▪ directly▪She did not reply directly to the allegations.
▪ personally▪Well, you weren't expecting him to reply personally, were you?
▪ at once, immediately▪ hastily, hurriedly, promptly, quickly▪ slowly▪ at length▪She replied at length, but not to the point.
▪ briefly, briskly, curtly, gruffly, shortly▪ abruptly, sharply▪ bluntly, flatly▪‘No, you're not!’ Graham replied bluntly.
▪ firmly▪ gently, politely, soothingly▪ lightly▪ seriously▪ quietly, softly▪ angrily, bitterly, crossly, indignantly, sourly▪‘It was your fault!’ she replied angrily.
▪ coldly, coolly, icily▪ cautiously, defensively, guardedly, hesitantly, nervously▪ calmly, evenly, mildly▪ meekly▪ haughtily, smugly▪ sternly, stiffly▪ brightly, cheerfully, happily▪ innocently▪ grimly, sadly▪ drily, sarcastically, sardonically, sweetly (ironic), tartly▪ absently, distractedly, vaguely▪ casually, nonchalantly▪‘I really don't care!’ he replied nonchalantly.
▪ matter-of-factly▪‘I know!’ she replied matter-of-factly.
▪ honestly, truthfully▪ confidently▪ evasively▪ sheepishly▪ shyly▪ tiredly, wearily▪ in kind▪Calvin was insulted and replied in kind (= by insulting them back).
VERB + REPLY▪ not bother to▪She didn't even bother to reply.
PREPOSITION▪ to▪He did not reply to my letter.
▪ with▪She replied with a smile.
PHRASES▪ a chance to reply▪She quickly left the room before he had a chance to reply.
Reply is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑voice
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
